InterviewFrom London to Seoul: How dearALICE is redefining K-pop boy bands

Boy band dearALICE was formed through the BBC reality series "Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience." Courtesy of Moon&Back Media and SM Entertainment

LONDON — Just two years ago, Olly, Dexter and Blaise knew little about K-pop beyond its biggest names. Now, they are preparing to step onto the SMTOWN LIVE London stage as members of dearALICE, the first-ever British K-pop boy band. Born out of a BBC reality show and trained under K-pop giant SM Entertainment, the band now stands at the forefront of K-pop’s ambitious global expansion, blending Korean perfectionism with distinctly British charm.

Sitting down at the Korean Cultural Centre UK near Trafalgar Square on April 24, three of the quintet's members reflected on their journey. Members James and Reese were not able to attend the interview.

“It was quite secretive at the start. You didn’t really know what you were walking into,” Dexter said, recalling the early audition process.

“It was just an audition to be in a boy band. We showed up not knowing much. But then once we found out the opportunity to go to Korea to train with SM, all of us realized it was quite a big opportunity, not something you’d ever want to miss. I’m so happy we made it."

Formed through the BBC reality series "Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience," the five members trained for 100 days in Seoul, ultimately leading to their debut as dearALICE, named after their favorite restaurant in Itaewon.

Boy band dearALICE performs "Best Day of Our Life" on BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing." Courtesy of Moon&Back Media and SM Entertainment

Crash course in K-pop

While the three members had backgrounds in musical theater or dance, their exposure to K-pop was minimal before they boarded a flight to Seoul.

“I kind of wish I knew more about it before we started. My only exposure was bits of BTS and BLACKPINK, very minimal compared to what I know now. (Throughout the process), I realize it was a massive privilege to be able to learn about K-pop in Korea," Blaise said.

"Ever since, I've become a massive admiring fan of K-pop. It's all over my Instagram, TikTok and Spotify playlists now. It’s been a really nice learning journey."

Olly expressed deep respect for H.O.T., the first-generation K-pop group under SM Entertainment widely credited with shaping the performance-driven, group-centered formula that defines K-pop today.

“I really liked H.O.T. for some reason. When I first knew I was going to be part of this wild journey, I wanted to go back to the older stuff from SM. H.O.T. just seemed really cool and interesting — and still kind of fresh, even though it’s from years ago. So for me, that’s sort of where it all started,” Olly said.

“Even though we’re a British boy band and doing our own music, K-pop is a huge inspiration for us. It is a massive part of our identity and where we’ve come from. We’re all just super honored to be even a small part of K-pop.”

Training in Korea was a transformative — and at times jarring — experience for the members of dearALICE, whose performance backgrounds in the U.K. had prepared them for the stage, but not necessarily the structure or intensity of the K-pop system. From relative outsiders, the members have rapidly absorbed K-pop’s vocabulary into their everyday lives.

“It was a shock to the system,” Blaise admitted. “If you watch the first couple of episodes of the TV show, you can see we were a bit taken aback. But over the 100 days we were there, we came to really appreciate it. It brought us together as a band and helped us progress our abilities a lot in a very short time frame."

Olly described the training as “intense and hard,” yet effective.

“Most of our choreographers didn’t speak English and we spoke barely any Korean at the start. But by the end, we could communicate without even talking. It was like we developed this shared language of movement and energy. We’d just look at each other and know what needed to improve. That was amazing,” Olly said.

“When you look at all these K-pop artists breaking out globally, the training clearly shows results. That's what really matters at the end of the day. And I’m glad we went through it. You know, pressure makes diamonds."

Dexter highlighted the cross-cultural experience they learned.

“The most surprising one to me was the teamwork and the team chemistry. We’d spend hours with amazing choreographers, but we'd also spend the time just us five. At the start, we're still getting to know each other, but it was really important so that we can all learn how to hold ourselves and each other accountable to be attentive to like the details of each move, so that we can keep improving each performance,” Dexter said.

“It was amazing getting to learn from a whole new culture and way of working and to create the collaboration between the Western world, the U.K. and with Korea. Looking back on it, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Members of dearALICE pose during their participation at SMTOWN LIVE in Seoul in January. Captured from dearALICE's Instagram

K-pop’s rise in UK

Their dedication and rigorous training ultimately paid off when dearALICE stepped onto the stage at SMTOWN LIVE in Seoul in January, marking their debut as fully-fledged K-pop idols with their first single "Ariana."

“When I first watched SMTOWN LIVE Tokyo (as a trainee), I couldn't fully appreciate how amazing of a spectacle it was. But returning a year later with a better understanding of K-pop and the industry and being on that stage with some of the best K-pop artists, it was amazing. That whole week, from SMTOWN to (Korean music show) ‘M Countdown,’ felt like riding on a high wave,” Blaise recalled.

Although they were part of the concert lineup, the members admitted they didn’t fully grasp the magnitude of SMTOWN LIVE until they were on stage.

“It was a really cool experience — going back as idols just a year after being trainees,” Dexter said.

“Standing on the lift beneath the stage, waiting to rise up in front of thousands of fans, I can never explain how that felt for the first time. I was so nervous, but at the same time so excited. Once we were out there, we just had so much fun. I still can't believe we got to do something like that for one of our first shows.”

Olly also reflected on the unexpected thrill of being embraced as part of the SMTOWN family.

"When we found out we'd even get to wear the same SMTOWN T-shirts as everyone else, we were beyond excited. We sang along (‘Hope from KWANGYA’) as much as possible and somehow ended up right in the center for the group photo," Olly said.

Dexter laughed recalling the moment. “We didn't do on purpose. We were a bit lost in the moment looking out at the crowd. And then all of a sudden, all the idols started coming around us.”

With their debut single “Ariana” and SMTOWN LIVE Seoul experience under their belt, dearALICE is now focused on building their career from the ground up.

“At the moment, we’re recording music — lots of it,” Blaise said. “We’re in the studio a lot, both the dance studio and the recording studio. We’re getting ready to release more music and perform more.”

Boy band dearALICE will participate in SMTOWN LIVE in London on June 28. Courtesy of Moon&Back Media and SM Entertainment

Another milestone for the group is just around the corner: performing on home turf at SMTOWN LIVE in London at Allianz Stadium, in June.

“It’s a pinch-me moment for all of us,” Dexter said. “It’ll be our first big performance here in the U.K. Hopefully, we’ll get to meet some of the fans who’ve been waiting to see us live since the start.”

Olly described the surreal contrast from the Seoul concert.

“It’s gonna be weird — just walking out the front door, heading down the road, performing in front of 75,000 people and then going home to your bed like it was a normal day. But it’s going to be amazing.”

They all agree that London — and the U.K. and Europe more broadly — is becoming a vital stage for K-pop’s next chapter.

“(K-pop is) definitely growing here,” Dexter said. “There's a massive (number of) people into K-pop. I think they realize how amazing K-pop is and catching up with the rest of the world. K-pop’s just booming.”

Olly added, “The U.K. is home to some of the greatest musicians in history. It makes sense for K-pop to leave its mark here too and we’re excited to be one of the first to help make that happen.”

This vision shapes dearALICE’s ongoing exploration of identity as a group bridging different cultures.

“We’re still finding our identity. We are always evolving and working hard to figure out what dearALICE really is,” Olly said.

“We don’t want to stick to one sound, one look, one genre. This whole project started as a fusion between a British company and a Korean company and we want to carry that forward.”

Dexter chimed in. “We’ve kind of redefined what you expect from a British boy band. We’re the first of our kind, so we're setting our own path.”